LOWER MERION TOWNSHIP, Pa. - Residents of the Montgomery County municipality of Lower Merion Township are a major step closer to having a real choice for their cable television services, thanks to a unanimous vote by the township's board of commissioners Wednesday night (Feb. 21) authorizing Verizon to offer its fiber-optic-powered FiOS TV.

The franchise, the largest awarded to Verizon to date in Pennsylvania, covers nearly 24,000 households in Lower Merion Township.

Verizon is providing FiOS services on the nation's most advanced digital, all-fiber-optic network. Only Verizon's FiOS network has earned the certification of the independent Fiber to the Home Council for providing fiber all the way to customers' homes.

With the latest approval, 113 municipalities in Montgomery, Chester, Bucks and Delaware counties have said yes to cable competition and awarded franchises to Verizon covering more than 515,800 Pennsylvania households. Currently, more than 135,000 households in 65 communities in the four-county area can choose the superior quality, reliability and value of FiOS TV.

"More Pennsylvania consumers are nearing some long-overdue, much-needed choice and competition for their TV service, and Verizon is eager to provide that choice," said William B. Petersen, president of Verizon Pennsylvania. "FiOS TV offers an innovative, reliable and competitive alternative to the incumbent cable provider - powered by our lightning-fast fiber-optic network.

"Pennsylvanians are saying 'yes' to FiOS TV in rapidly growing numbers, and we hope many Lower Merion Township residents soon will join them."

In addition to Pennsylvania, Verizon currently offers FiOS TV in parts of nine other states: California, Delaware, Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Texas and Virginia. The company will make FiOS TV available in Pennsylvania markets where it has obtained approved franchises from local authorities.

FiOS TV offers a broad collection of all-digital programming, two dozen high-definition channels, video on demand and more. It is delivered over Verizon's fiber-to-the-premises network, which has industry-leading quality and reliability. Fiber delivers amazingly sharp pictures and sound, and has the capacity to transmit a wide array of high-definition programming that is so clear and intense it seems to leap from the TV screen.

In addition to FiOS TV, Verizon's fiber network also allows the company to offer consumers and businesses high-speed FiOS Internet Service at download speeds of up to 30 Mbps (megabits per second) and upload speeds up to 5 Mbps.* FiOS Internet Service currently is available to many consumers and small businesses in Montgomery County, as well as parts of Bucks, Chester and Delaware counties.

* NOTE: actual (throughput) speeds will vary.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ), headquartered in New York, is a leader in delivering broadband and other wireline and wireless communication innovations to mass market, business, government and wholesale customers. Verizon Wireless operates America's most reliable wireless network, serving more than 59 million customers nationwide. Verizon's Wireline operations include Verizon Business, which operates one of the most expansive wholly owned global IP networks, and Verizon Telecom, which is deploying the nation's most advanced fiber-optic network to deliver the benefits of converged communications, information and entertainment services to customers. A Dow 30 company, Verizon has a diverse workforce of approximately 242,000 and last year generated consolidated operating revenues of more than $88 billion. For more information, visit www.verizon.com.